WHO fights antibiotic resistance
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported that the world is running out of antibiotics. Antibiotics are used to fight bacteria that can cause infections such as strep throat, ear infections and pneumonia. These drugs cannot cure allergies or kill viruses, and they are not even able to cure all bacteria. Antibiotics are generally safe and very effective at fighting bacterial infections, but bacteria are growing increasingly resistant to the drugs. At this rate, bacterial resistance is likely to occur faster than new drugs are able to be developed.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an increasingly serious issue. This occurs when microogranisms change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs, said the WHO. Currently, most drugs are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics. These drugs are not meant to be a long term solution to AMR and new drugs are necessary. Microbials that are resistant to antibiotics are sometimes referred to as “superbugs.”
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“Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that will seriously jeopardize progress in modern medicine,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. “There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery.”
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The WHO has identified 12 families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are of the largest risk to human health, reported CNN. Tuberculosis is one of these in addition to a variety of bacteria responsible for infections in hospitals and nursing homes.
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Additionally, people are not always using antibiotics responsibly. The overuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals has led the path to antibiotic resistance to speed up. This is when someone gets an antibiotic when it is not necessary or when a doctor is quick to prescribe one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that up to one-third to one-half of antibiotic use in humans is either not appropriate or not necessary.
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To combat this issue, the WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative started the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP). GARDP’s mission is to “develop and deliver new treatments for bacterial infections where drug resistance is present or emerging, or for which inadequate treatment exists,” according to their website. Some of the main focuses include reducing mortality in children under the age of five and to reduce bacterial and fungal infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STI).
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Increasing antibiotic resistance does not just mean that people are more likely to die because of lack of treatment. It also means that healthcare costs will increase, which is already a large concern in the U.S. Many procedures, whether that be surgeries or cancer treatments, require being able to keep infections at bay using antibiotics. The WHO reported that new treatments alone will not be able to fight antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, they are working with countries and partners to improve infection prevention and control, use current antibiotics responsibly, and to develop new antibiotics.